Tywithay

Based on recent years, I'm assuming they just bring the Aldebaran here and raise the price, ie. Antares, Conquest, Metanium.

The Aldebaran doesn't have a "shallow" spool persay, though capacity is limited due to the size. Capacity is: 10/100-12/80-14/70 Only 5 yards less than the Core 50.

That can be true, even for brand new reels on the market.

Nobody is going to care what you use to catch fish, as much as you want them to.

Hammer rods uses winn grips on their fishing rods. You can also buy winn split or full handles for custom rods. Hawgtech also just released some Winn soft touch reel grips, which are very intriguing.

For $250, I'd look at an ***. The titanium recoil guides will help if you get some salt. Far more sensitive than the Avid and a much more comfortable grip as well.

JDM 9.1 Zillion. Digging the green Metanium DC XG Aldebaran 50HG Exist 2505F or 2508PE Maybe an Alphas SV.

I like quality eva. Never found it to be slippery.

You don't have to wait for a reel to be discontinued to go on sale. There's a sale on every major holiday. That allows someone to buy a better product that was previously over their budget. Every company keeps parts long after a reel is gone.

The contact is minimal, and any minute scratches from machining will kind of naturally polish themselves out, making the spool faster and creating just the right amount of spacing. There will not be any contact to wear after that.

If the reel is machined properly, the tolerance is so tight between the shaft and pinion that there's no benefit to oil.

SS bearings should be oiled. Putting a few drops only slows them down. One tiny drop is plenty.

The spool shaft should be clean and dry.

If you put a few drops of oil on the spool bearings, performance has already been reduced.

There are casting reels every bit as capable of finesse fishing, and spinning reels capable of doing all the heavier applications. It's all up to budget and preferences. Generally speaking, you get more performance for your dollar with a spinning reel, especially in the finesse market.

I have a 6' light spinning Clarus. Think I paid $50-$60. It's ok. I wouldn't pay full price for one, but they're a decent value on sale.

I didn't say it was the 1016 spool, I said it wasn't an upgrade. The MX spool performs equally as well. The RCS1016 only has a slight edge when you dip into the 1/8oz range. Anything 1/4oz or above, you will not see a difference.

Wait for a sale, or look for an excellent condition used, Stradic CI4+. It's worth the extra over the old CI4. Very smooth reel, lightweight, and has a very smooth drag.

The MX spool is essentially the same as the 1016 spool. It's not an upgrade.

13 Archangel and Muse. That's about it. I'll probably go custom otherwise.

Fish with it. If there's any manufacturing defects, they should show up fairly quickly. Then you can get a replacement, if needed. Only thing I'll do is oil the levelwind, if it looks/feels dry.

A St Croix medium is not stout, but it's usually a little more powerful than a typical medium. I think you could throw small popper or spooks, small jerkbaits, 1/4oz spinnerbaits, 1/4oz jigs, weightless plastics, etc. I don't know how well it will set the hook on weightless plastics though. I prefer a longer, slightly stiffer rod, because you need to pick up some line and have enough backbone to get the hook to pierce the plastic; I am sure it would be sufficient, especially with light wire hooks. It's a pretty versatile little rod, given the length.

4" senko = .245oz, roughly 1/4 oz 5" senko = .350oz, roughly 1/3 oz That doesn't include the hook. Be wary of your lure ratings, if you go that route.

For bass, jerkbaits. I would put a BFS reel on it and use it for crappie and bluegill.

They're not hard to find at all. The best price I've seen is roughly $220 on Digitaka. The 8.1 T3 MX is a sweet little reel, plus it looks cool with the black and purple. There's not many reels that will pitch as well.